The oblique S parameter in higgsless electroweak models

We present a one-loop calculation of the oblique S parameter within Higgsless models of electroweak symmetry breaking. We have used a general effective Lagrangian with at most two derivatives, implementing the chiral symmetry breaking SU(2)_L x SU(2)_R -> SU(2)_{L+R} with Goldstones, gauge bosons and one multiplet of vector and axial-vector resonances. The estimation is based on the short-distance constraints and the dispersive approach proposed by Peskin and Takeuchi.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Talk given at QCD@work 2012, International Workshop on Quantum Chromodynamics: Theory and Experiment, 18-21th June (2012), Lecce (Italy

Online tutorial support in open distance learning through audio-graphic SCMC: tutor impressions

The adoption of audio-graphic conferencing brings with it changes to the learning experience for tutors and students alike. These need to be researched to gain an insight into the learning experience of those teaching and being taught through the medium. One of the conferencing tools that has been utilised for much of the documented research on audio-graphic conferencing is the Lyceum software, used at the UK Open University since 2002 to provide tutorial support for higher level language learners. The use of the software has been reported at different stages, from the pilot projects since 1997 (Hauck & Haezewindt, 1999, Shield 2000, Kötter 2001, Hewer and Shield 2001), to reports of the mainstream use (Hampel 2003, Hampel & Hauck 2004). It seems logical that the next step should be to research into the tutors’ experiences of the audio-graphic tool, which is a key element in the CALL research agenda (Warschauer, 1997; Debski & Levy, 1999). As the Open University prepares to phase out the software and replace it with a Moodle-based open-content audio-graphic synchronous conferencing tool, the insight into teaching with such tools becomes more valuable to other language learning professionals and institutions. In this paper we will report on a study of data collected from 18 tutors after spending a year teaching a new beginners’ course online. We will examine their perceptions of the audio-graphic tool and challenge some of the results from the initial research into audio-graphic conferencing. Most tutors found the teaching experience very positive and liked using the tool; however some experienced technical problems and believe that these affect the learning experience. In addition we will report on the first and successful use of the environment for assessment purposes

Twitter: A Professional Development and Community of Practice Tool for Teachers

This article shows how a group of language teachers use Twitter as a tool for continuous professional development through the #MFLtwitterati hashtag. Based on data collected through a survey (n=116) and interviews (n=11), it describes how this collective of teachers use the hashtag and evaluates the impact of their Twitter network on their teaching practices. The results show that most users try the suggestions and ideas that they find on this network, which have a positive impact on their teaching. Finally, the article assesses whether the hashtag users can be described as a community of practice

Design and user evaluation of a mobile app to teach Chinese characters.

This paper presents both the pedagogical design principles and the challenges faced during the development of a mobile app, Chinese Characters First Steps, to support recognising, learning and practising writing Chinese characters at beginners’ level, including the difficult balance between pedagogy and technical affordances. We also present the results of a research study which collected quantitative data from over 130 users of the app as well as qualitative data from interviews with four users. The results offer a profile of language learning app users and very positive attitudes towards learning with apps. They also reveal users' reasons for learning Chinese, patterns of learning, expectations of the app, and evaluation of the different features for their own personal learning. Finally, the paper concludes that the chosen design principles for the app were appropriate for its purpose

Hot-spot analysis for drug discovery targeting protein-protein interactions

Introduction: Protein-protein interactions are important for biological processes and pathological situations, and are attractive targets for drug discovery. However, rational drug design targeting protein-protein interactions is still highly challenging. Hot-spot residues are seen as the best option to target such interactions, but their identification requires detailed structural and energetic characterization, which is only available for a tiny fraction of protein interactions. Areas covered: In this review, the authors cover a variety of computational methods that have been reported for the energetic analysis of protein-protein interfaces in search of hot-spots, and the structural modeling of protein-protein complexes by docking. This can help to rationalize the discovery of small-molecule inhibitors of protein-protein interfaces of therapeutic interest. Computational analysis and docking can help to locate the interface, molecular dynamics can be used to find suitable cavities, and hot-spot predictions can focus the search for inhibitors of protein-protein interactions. Expert opinion: A major difficulty for applying rational drug design methods to protein-protein interactions is that in the majority of cases the complex structure is not available. Fortunately, computational docking can complement experimental data. An interesting aspect to explore in the future is the integration of these strategies for targeting PPIs with large-scale mutational analysis.This work has been funded by grants BIO2016-79930-R and SEV-2015-0493 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness, and grant EFA086/15 from EU Interreg V POCTEFA. M Rosell is supported by an FPI fellowship from the Severo Ochoa program. The authors are grateful for the support of the the Joint BSC-CRG-IRB Programme in Computational Biology.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Electromagnetic coupling simulagions for a magnetic induction sensor for sleep monitoring

Magnetic induction (MI) method has been extensively used in non-destructive testing of materials. In biomedical applications, it attracted lots of attention for the contact-less advantages it provides. Sleep monitoring through detecting conductivity changes in lungs and heart during breathing and cardiac activity is the purpose of our studies. The low conductivity of biological tissues increase the complexity of the design of such systems. One challenge is to separate the effects of magnetic field from the electric field; achieving a pure magnetic contribution is difficult since the received signal is contaminated by the unwanted capacitive coupling. Our hypothesis is that for a periodic vital sign monitoring like breathing and heart activity, part of this secondary coupling could be considered as a desired effect to take the advantage of both contributions. In this paper, the coupling mechanisms existed in our system have been simulated and studied using finite element and Orcad simulations to estimate different contributions we would have in the developed MI system.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author’s final draft

Industrial engineering in Spain, the challenge of a new liberal profession in the nineteenth century

Industrial engineering was established in Spain in 1850. Despite the initial difficulties, the profession found its role in the process of the industrialization of Spain. The industrial engineers were the first free professionals in the world of engineerin g, given that there was not a State Corps linked to them. In this sense, there are some similarities between the Spanish industrial engineers and the French Centraliens . Moreover, the educational system developed in Spain in the nineteenth century gave lit tle autonomy to the engineering schools, and this was a major difference from the French onesPostprint (published version

Present Status of Chiral Perturbation Theory

The basic ideas and methods of chiral perturbation theory are briefly reviewed. I discuss the recent attempts to build an effective Lagrangian in the resonance region and summarize the known large-N_C constraints on the low-energy chiral couplings.Comment: 6 pages. Invited talk at the 10th International Symposium on Meson-Nucleon Physics and the Structure of the Nucleon (MENU 2004), Beijing, China, August 29 - September 4, 200